The Skeleton Gate
by Smiling Beret
Summary: Nova's concern for his equally quiet friend pulls him into a situation far more dangerous than anything he could have anticipated.
1. Premonition

_AN; Edited after a slight misinterpretation. Also, most people seem to prefer "Nova" to "Noba", so I've changed that. But there's really not much I can do otherwise if no one gives me any feedback. _

---

Chapter one: Premonition

---

It was a late hour, as usual, and the night's silence was only stirred by the deep breathing of Urahara Shop's sleeping residents. Only one solitary pair of eyes were open and staring vacantly into the darkness of the room, if one was liberal enough to call what Nova had in his current form eyes.

It was this _feeling _again. This strangely overwhelming sense of uneasiness that pressed down against his chest and kept tugging him out of his sleep, interlaced with the sensation of another being's reiatsu. Somehow, his Bount sensor was acting up, but the reiatsu he felt could not belong to a Bount, seeing as they had been extinct for quite some time.

But the mystery was not to _whom_ that reiatsu belonged. Nova knew that by now. There was no denying it any longer.

"… _Sado."_

The name slipped out of him in a hoarse, barely audible whisper. He fixed his gaze to his lap and knotted his hands tightly together as a silent expression of his distressed mind. How could Sado possibly trigger his sensor? Even if he had been a Bount, he lived much too far away for the sensor to be able to notice him. Could this mean… that Sado was in some sort of trouble?

Nova slid down from the desk he had been sitting on and scurried towards his currently sleeping comrades. He had to check if Sado was all right, but there was little he could do outside of his gigai, and he would need help from either Claude or Ririn to get back into it. The choice was obvious. Of course Claude was going to be less than happy about being woken up, but he could never get… _violently angry_.

"Claude," Nova called out as he drew near the pink rabbit, shooting nervous glances in the direction of a lightly snoring Ririn. "Claude…"

The lack of reaction made Nova gently attempt to shake him into life, but received only a few muffled grunts in response.

"Claude!_" – _a sharp push, then a moment of silence before the plushy body suddenly twitched and let out a panicky gasp of, _"No, Madame, the buffaloes are __**gone**__!"_

"_Claude!"_

"Wh-_wha…?" _

It took precisely three seconds of sleep-ridden confusion to pass for Claude to fully come to his senses and was, as Nova had anticipated, not very delighted.

"Nova…?" he groaned in annoyance. "What are you… how _dare _you wake me up at this hour? Go back to sleep!"

"I cannot."

"Heavens, boy, what do you _want_? It's the middle of the night!"

"I'm sorry," Nova replied sheepishly, "but I need your help to get into my gigai."

"Your _what?"_

Long pause.

"_Now?" _Claude exclaimed in exasperation. "Can't that wait until the morning?"

"It cannot." The tortoise plushy retracted into his collar in shame, desperately desiring his zipper mask. "I think Sado is in danger. I need my gigai to make full use of my powers so I can help him."

"In danger?" Claude's annoyed tone was suddenly tinged with bewilderment. "What makes you think that?"

"Please, just help me get into my gigai," Nova pleaded. Claude gave off a weary sigh and strained to stand upright. "Alright, alright, I'll help you if you calm down a little. Just don't make this a habit."

"No prob -"

The sentence was brutally cut short by Claude thrusting a long, fluffy ear down his throat. "Of all people-!" the pink bunny tutted through his comrade's strangled gagging, "You have hidden it well this time, hope I don't take any of your stuffing… oh, there it is!"

Nova stiffened as he felt the downy surface of Claude's ear envelop his soul core, and seconds later, the autonomy he had over his plushy form was ripped away from him. Being so helplessly restricted inside a little marble, severed from the senses and ability of a body, was a sensation Nova was certain he would never quite get used to. Finally, Claude reached his gigai, and it was with a sharp ripple of relief that he felt himself extend beyond his core, into lean limbs and warm muscle tissue.

"There you go," Claude chirped as Nova shot his eyes open and sucked in a sharp breath of air, "try to be back before breakfast, Tessai wouldn't like it if anyone was missing. Oh, and say hello to Chad from me!"

"I will."

Nova stared after Claude as he left before gazing down his gloved palms and splaying his fingers, breath hot against the navy-blue fabric of his mask. It hadn't been _that_ long since he last was in his human form, and already he was starting to forget what it was like. But as long as his power still worked…

_Alright. Here goes nothing. _

Nova closed his eyes in concentration as he forced spirit power to his hands, amassing it until it ripped through the firmament to his own dimension and created a gate he could pass through.

_I hope you are okay, Sado._

---

That _creation_ in front of him could not possibly be food. Renji wasn't entirely sure _what_ it was, but food did certainly _not_ look like that. Or smell like that. Or…

_Wait, did it just _move_?_

"S'matter, freeeloooader?" Jinta queried, his face cracked into a giant, ill-spirited grin. "Can't handle Tessai's cooking?"

"Just shut up, -" the redheaded shinigami nearly spat, pausing to find something really hurtful to say, "- you brat."

Somehow, Jinta did not appear horribly emotionally wounded by that remark – in fact, his smirk grew even wider, much to Renji's chagrin.

"Now, now," Urahara cooed joyously as he scratched his fan against his temple. "We should not fight at the table when Tessai-san has made us such a nice breakfast!"

The aforementioned cook himself had yet to touch his own food, opting instead to sit completely still while radiating a biting frostiness that made everyone tilt away from him. "It seems -" he began, very slowly, etching grave displeasure into every word, "- that we are missing someone."

"Ah, that Nova," Claude sighed lightly, sounding almost paternally disappointed, "I did tell him to come back before breakfast."

"What?" Ririn snapped her face towards him. "You know where he is?"

"Oh, indeed! He missed Chad so terribly, so he redressed in his gigai and went to see him."

Renji's eyebrows immediately vanished under his headband. "Nova said _that_?"

The obvious shock originating the question made Claude chuckle as he flapped an ear dismissively. "No, no, you silly freeloader -" this caused Renji to press his lips into a hard, angered line, but the chirpy Modsoul took absolutely no notice of it "-Nova would never just _say_ anything like that. He spouted some nonsense about Chad being in danger, without any explanation of course, for how could he possibly know _that_?" There was a sudden perk to his voice as Claude marveled over his own cleverness. "No, old Claude knows better! Finally, Nova has a friend he does not actually need to _talk_ to, so it's only natural that he wants to spend more time with him. But Nova is much too shy to just say it outright – his poor head would probably explode from the embarrassment if he tried."

Ririn frowned. "He could at least have waited until _after_ breakfast before stomping off like that. Dumbass."

A sigh of exasperation blew past Renji's lips as he turned to Kisuke in a silent accusation of _how could you make your Modsouls __**this**__ annoying_, but stopped himself in surprise over the sandal-wearing man's abrupt change in demeanor. Every trace of his previous cheerfulness had completely slipped off his facial features, eyes hidden underneath the slanted rim of his hat. In deep thought, apparently. Renji did not quite like it when Kisuke turned like that, because it usually meant that he would send someone to do something for him, and that _someone _usually ended up being the good-fer-nothing freeloader as Jinta so lovingly called him. And true enough…

"Abarai-san."

Renji cursed inwardly. "Nh?"

The fan was unfolded in one swift flick of its owner's wrist and now sheathed the lower half of his face. "I would like for you to attend school today."

"Huh?" Now _this_ was a surprise. "What for?"

"I want you to -" Kisuke faltered a little as he weighed his words, "- to keep an eye on Kurosaki-san. See if you notice anything unusual about him."

Renji stared blankly at him for a few moments. "… You want me to _spy _on Ichigo?" he asked eventually, the clear disbelief in his tone making Kisuke cringe.

"… It sounds so _bad _when you say it like that_."_

At this point, Jinta could not keep himself quiet any longer. "Of course he doesn't want you to spy on Ichigo, you dumbass," he snapped. "He wants you out of the shop before your lazy ass starts growing roots into the couch."

"What did you say!?"

Renji's initial reaction was to get pissed off until he suddenly realized what a golden opportunity this was. "Well," he chirped with an unusually loud and cheery voice, "I'll be late for school if I don't hurry! It seems I won't have time for breakfast." That last part was added with a remorseful tinge that couldn't have sounded more insincere had it not been for Renji 's accompanying facial expression as he bounced to his feet and leaped across the shop.

Just before exiting, the following reassurance bellowed by the pale-haired shopkeeper nearly made Renji bite a hole through his lower lip in aggravation; "Don't you worry, Abarai-san! We'll save some for you when you return!"

The shinigami opted right there and then not to come back until he was certain that everyone was fast asleep so that he could arrange a mysterious disappearance for the remains of that hideous foodstuff before it managed to cause him any impairment.

---

A good three hours later, Renji stood by the entrance to the school and scanned the heads of passing students in search of Ichigo's fiercely orange mane. Soon enough, he found the person in question, standing in the shadow of a tree and in the company of someone with hair almost as ginger as his was.

"Renji-kun?"

There was an implicit question in Orihime's saucer-eyed stare as Renji advanced towards them. Ichigo chose a more straight-forward approach.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?"

Renji smirked. "What does it look like? I'm going to school."

"Why?"

"I felt like it."

A brow slanted suspiciously up Ichigo's forehead. How he managed to do that and still keep his characteristic scowl was a mystery. "You're lying out of your ears, Renji," he boldly stated.

"I am not!"

"You would never willingly come to school and the day is almost _over."_

Renji blinked. "Is it?"

"C'mon. What are you _really_ doing here?" Ichigo demanded to know.

"I told you, I felt like it!" the shinigami snapped, taking offence at the accusation of being a liar, then added, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and also, I had to get out because they kept insisting on me eating something really weird."

Ichigo found that even recognizing exactly who Renji was talking about did not make his statement less mystifying. "Huh? Don't you always complain that they deny you food all the time?"

Renji frowned. "Why do you think I'm escaping in the first place? Who knows _what_ they might have put in it. I'm not eager to find out."

Ichigo agreed that he did have a point, after which the conversation crumbled into a slightly awkward silence. "… So, where's the big guy?" Renji asked after a while, curious what had happened to Chad since the Modsoul went to see him. Ichigo shrugged.

"If you're talking about Chad, he hasn't been here today."

"Sado-kun never misses school," said Orihime, thoughtfully tapping an index finger at her chin. "And he's never sick either…"

"There's a first time for everything."

"Maybe… he was kidnapped by aliens?"

Ichigo's eyebrows vanished under his bangs, more because of the gravity in her tone rather than the actual suggestion in itself. "… How is _that _more likely than him being sick?"

"Don't you see?" Orihime inhaled deeply as she prepared to unleash her theory on her stunned conversation partner while Renji had become unusually quiet and glassy-eyed. His head rang with the few worthwhile words Claude had vented during breakfast.

"… _He redressed in his gigai and went to see him… spouted some nonsense about Chad being in danger…"_

Now both Nova and Chad were missing. Renji bit at his lower lip.

Damn.

Maybe that wasn't just 'nonsense' after all…

---


	2. The Gate appears

---

Chapter two: The gate appears

---

_The preceding night, a shy Modsoul left to search for his friend…_

---

Thirty-seven times.

Tufts of cherry-colored hair pasted onto the young man's forehead as he supported himself on his knees, his breath wafting against the zipper mask in short, jagged exhales. His body was shivering uncontrollably, aching in muscles and joints like he had just run a marathon.

Nova's hands clenched. Thirty-seven times had he teleported himself to places where he felt Sado's reiatsu, but for all his effort, the tall teenager was nowhere to be found. What in the world was _wrong_ with his spiritual sense, sending him off on such a wild goose hunt like that? Was he starting to malfunction?

This could mean that Sado wasn't really in danger after all. That he was just imagining things.

Nova resisted the urge to wipe a droplet of sweat that was irritatingly dancing on his upper lip and erected himself to his full height.

_Sado is safe, then. _

He couldn't help but feel a little relaxed at that thought.

_But why is – _

"Nova."

The voice spoke from somewhere behind him and he knew even before turning who it belonged to.

"Sado."

"What's wrong?"

Nob's left set of fingers fumbled the zipper of his mask uncomfortably as Sado approached him. How _embarrassing_. "Nothing."

If the human teen was feeling worried or surprised, it was well hidden by his usual deadpan facade. "You're wearing your gigai," he observed.

"Yes."

"Then what's wrong?"

Few things escaped his vigilance, Nova noted with some admiration, though some of this could possibly be credited their sameness in nature. "My Bount sensor is reacting." A truthful explanation, though only half of it. "But it's not Bount reiatsu I'm sensing; it's yours."

Sado's only visible eyebrow perked up.

"I thought it meant that you were in danger," Nova finished weakly.

None of them spoke. A pair of fallen leaves was ruffled by a gust of wind before it carried them with it, scraping sporadically against the pavement. The light of the upcoming dawn crept slowly across the pitch-black firmament.

A chilly draft made Noba knot his arms over his chest. He coughed.

Sado blinked.

Nova blinked.

The former gave vent to a thoughtful "hm", before glancing up at the sky. "What a coincidence," he said eventually. "I felt something similar."

Politeness, or perhaps a dazed surprise, left Nova in silence, waiting for him to carry on. "I couldn't sleep," he then continued. "So I decided to just go on a walk instead. Maybe you could join me, since you're already here?"

The red-headed young man started a little at the suggestion. "Okay," is what he would have responded had he not suddenly been struck with a shockwave of spiritual energy.

Sado's eyes widened.

"What -?"

Another shockwave, stronger this time, made them both reel backwards, creating a ripple of airborne dust along its impact area. It took only a moment for Sado to recover before he summoned his armored arm and ordered Nova to stand back. Their bodies tensed into battle stances – to their best ability at least, Yoruichi would pull her hair out had she seen them – and they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

The intensity of which they stared into the spot they suspected was guilty of the commotion could rip a hole through space, but whatever life it had so suddenly discharged seemed to have been brief; it was now just a still, boring patch of the parking lot. Their shoulders descended as the battle resolve they had amassed withered away, the creases between their eyebrows vanished and they exchanged the kind of nervous glances that would have made them giggle had they been prone to nervous giggling.

"I wonder what that was," Sado murmured, apprehensively, as if he worried it would come back if he talked too loudly. "Be careful."

His partner gave quick nod. "No problem."

Despite their currently agitated mindset, the next moments proved to be rather mundane. The parking lot basked in the orange luminosity of street lights lined up along the highway, something Nova found to be a deeply disconcerting sight, since it reminded him of a horror movie he had watched together with Claude as the latter hadn't dared to see it on his own.

Sado breathed a comforted sigh and turned his arm back to its tanned, muscular glory. "Whatever it was, I think it's gone now," he merely stated.

Nova relaxed. "I agree."

"I don't really feel like continuing the walk. Maybe we should both go h -"

The sentence ended in a surprised wheeze as the anticipated third shockwave unexpectedly slammed them off their feet. They spent the next few moments blinking stupidly at each other in befuddlement over suddenly lying horizontally on the ground before their attention latched to the parking lot, and they discovered, to their horror, that a monumental rectangular area above the pavement had begun emanating a thick, black haze. It lingered quietly in the chill air for a brief moment before taking the form of a great gate, its surface titivated by grinning, skeletal figures. Cold realization dawned upon Sado and his jaw dropped.

"… No… is this…?"

The gate flung open. Neither had the chance to react or even cry out before the gate had reached out and pulled them into it. Nova's vision blackened and he slipped into unconsciousness.

---

"… Okay, what do you _want_?"

"I told you, didn't I?"

"… You want to come with me to _Thread World_?"

"Yeah."

"_Really_?"

"Yeah! That's what friends are for, right?"

"We are _not_ friends. I doubt we would have been even if you hadn't been a shinigami."

Renji gave vent to a loud, displeased 'tsk'. "You're so _cold_, Ishida."

The aforementioned Quincy pushed his glasses up in display of his irritation. "I don't know what you're after, but I can assure you that if what you want from me is so dubious that you can't even be straightforward about it, sweet talking me won't help. I'm smarter than that. Why don't you go back to Urahara Shop?"

The strangled cough Ishida was sent in reply only made his suspicion, along with his eyebrows, rise significantly. "What? Did something happen?"

Renji coughed again, cheeks glowing pink. "… Uhm…"

"You aren't dodging chores, are you?"

"No!" The shinigami's voice flared with indignation over such an insolent suggestion. "That's not it. I think…" Dark solemnity fell over his features, and Ishida was immediately intrigued. "I think… that they might be trying to poison me."

Ishida deflated in shock. Abarai didn't seem like the paranoid type. "Poison you? What makes you think that?"

"I don't know what it is, but… the breakfast they gave me this morning looked really strange. I mean, _really_ strange. But that's not the strangest part; they said they'd _spare_ it for me until I got back from school." Renji tinged the word 'spare' heavily with disbelief to indicate just how incredulous that offer truly sounded. "They deny me food at every opportunity they get, and now they're suddenly _sparing_ some for me? Something is definitely going on here."

"Hm. Well. Maybe." The Quincy adjusted his glasses, a sudden smugness lacing his voice. "But to run away like this is kind of… pathetic, isn't it?"

"Shut up! I didn't ask for your advice! Besides…" Renji's eyes closed shut as he stuck his nose up. "… You should be grateful that I'm tagging along in the first place."

"_Excuse _me?"

"Not in a million years are you going to find another guy who has such an interest in sewing as you do. Now that you've got me, you should exploit this opportunity for what it's worth."

Ishida spluttered something rude in angered offense, and Renji was pleased to see that he had hit a soft spot. Insults were tossed back and forth, until both of them emitted a loud 'hmph!' and looked away from each other.

Renji soon discovered that the trek to Thread World was a long one, and awkward silence did little to make it entertaining. In an attempt at amusing himself, he started counting the passersby wearing scarves. It turned out to be quite many.

There, a couple eating at the café, two young women by the grocery store, a teenager typing on her cell phone to his left, and in front of him, a tall, dark- haired man donning a Captain's haori –

Realization struck Renji like lightning, making him jump several feet back with a scream of utter shock. "C-c-captain Kuchiki…!?"

The Captain fixed him with a silently reprimanding glare for his sudden outburst. Onlookers shot curious glances in the direction of the weird, red-headed man who, in their eyes, had suddenly yelled and leaped backwards for no apparent reason. Renji blushed. Ishida stared dumbly at the newcomer, mouth agape. Byakuya had to take some blame for their strong reactions, as he had flash stepped from a place beyond their view to directly in front of them in the sake of making an impressive entrance.

"Renji," he said sternly, closing his eyes. "There has been… a situation. Take your gigai off and come back with me to Seireitei."

Renji paled. His gaze lingered by a long, clean gash in the Captain's cheek before he swallowed nervously. "… Captain… how'd you get that cut…?"

Byakuya opened his eyes, pencil-thin brows knotting tightly above them. The silently repressed fury radiating from behind his stone cold facial expression made Renji immediately regret his question and he cringed under the Caprain's hard, unrelenting stare. Eventually, Buyakuya's eyes closed again and he turned around and began walking away without saying a word.

Renji blinked.

He and Ishida exchanged worried glances.

For a Captain to personally come to the living world, whatever had happened in Seireitei must have been very, very serious.

---


	3. Introductions

Chapter three; Introductions

---

Hot.

Hot.

_Hot._

As Nova slowly recuperated from his unconscious state, he was soon to wish that he _didn't_. The surface beneath him radiated an excruciatingly intense heat, unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and he was immediately glad that his outfit kept his skin from coming in direct contact with it. Though it didn't protect him from feeling like he was laying face-down in a frying pan.

"… Hnnghh…"

With a groan, he stirred. Only after he had ascertained that all of his gigai's parts were intact did he open his eyes.

Nova blinked once. Then again, a little more forcefully.

He was in a desert – it _had _to be a desert – for all his eyes could observe was miles and miles of sand in every direction. But something was off. The sky was pitch black, and contained no stars or other sources of light – instead, it was the _sand_ itself that was glowing, a mint green color.

Nova was thoroughly creeped out at this point and swiftly rose to a stand, only to regret it a second later.

While the sand was insufferably hot, the air was cold – _very _cold. Nova inhaled sharply and wrapped his lanky arms around himself, futilely. His teeth clattered loudly against each other as he felt his body heat rapidly seep out of him, making him shudder uncontrollably. He crouched down.

The question _where _seemed inadequate at this point; it was rather _what _this place was that had any importance. That gate… had not been like the teleportation gate he had made for transportation of Sado and his friends to Urahara Shop. Not like it; but not _unlike_ it either. Nova wasn't sure how to describe it.

As he gazed down his own feet, he noticed something to his left. Weak imprints in the sand; of long, bare feet. Nova felt a sudden wallop in his chest. Oddly enough, there were no footprints leading _to _him, only _away_ from him, silently inviting him along their path. With few other alternatives, he decided to follow.

The landscape remained virtually unchanged for the long while Nova walked, and to him it seemed like he hadn't moved at all. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the footprints, as if worried they would disappear if he lost sight of them. Nova pondered the fate of his silent partner. Sado wasn't one to be easily knocked off his perch. Maybe he was somewhere nearby, chasing someone's mysterious footsteps…

Suddenly, there was an interruption in his line of sight, brusquely jerking him out of his thoughts.

He had reached the end of his voyage, it seemed, for the footprints were cut off by a row of oil lamps, stretching seemingly without end in both directions. In front of it, a weathered sign stood erected, saying;

_Follow the light, or you will die!_

…_. Again!_

Nova slanted a brow. _Follow the light?_ he questioned. _What does that mean? The row of oil lamps? I don't even know where it starts and where it ends. Which way am I supposed to – _

"It does not matter which way you take."

Someone more jumpy might have had a heart attack at the spot. Instead, Nova merely twitched, and span around to face the owner of the unfamiliar voice. His eyes widened as he set them on a young woman encased in tattered monk robes. Apart from her bare feet, her ashen face was the only part discernible of her, and it was eerily lifeless and lethargic, not unlike her manner of speaking.

"It does not matter which way you take," she repeated, slowly, "because the Fringe is spherical; the oil lamps go all around it, like a ring. The ones who try to follow them will end up walking the distance of equator only to end up here again. Part of Master's sense of humor, I suppose."

Nova blinked. "Who… are…?"

"My name is Light," she said. "Like you, I only have a given name."

"… Light? Does that mean…?"

"Yes," the woman said listlessly, "the sign referring to me and not the lamps. Come."

With that, Light turned on her heel and began sauntering away. Nova stood frozen to the spot in one long, dazed moment before he snapped to his senses and darted after her. As he caught up with her, he turned his head to ask, "How did you…?"

"I know you only have a given name because Master told me so, Nova-san. He's waiting for you."

"How did he -?"

"Ask him when you get there."

"Why does -"

"Why he wants to meet you is between you and him."

"… But… where are -"

"I told you where we are; in the Fringe."

"What is -"

"I can't tell you."

Nova shut himself up. This woman's ability to foresee his questions was beyond scary, and he decided not to talk to her more than absolutely necessary.

Light shot him a brief glance before saying, "You need not be scared."

Somehow, this statement did little to soothe him.

---

Nova would never have thought that it was possible to be both bored and frightened at the same time, but evidently, it was. He had spent the last couple of hours or so desperately trying not attract the attention of his companion while simultaneously looking for ways to keep himself entertained, as it turned out that walking across an monotonous landscape without talking, or even _thinking_, was insufferably dull. So he almost had to express his joy aloud when the faint outline of a house formed in his vision.

"That is our destination," Light said. Nova nodded in response.

As they drew nearer, Nova saw that it wasn't a house, but a square centre-pole tent. A large one at that. Light stopped just outside of the entrance and refused to walk any further.

"Go alone," she said, "I will not follow you."

Nova wasn't eager to meet this Master on his own, but Light was unyielding in her decision, so that was the only choice left for him. He sighed, straightened himself up – and went through the entrance.

What met him inside was a strange sight. Lifelike mannequins were stacked up against the walls, some hidden underneath blankets, and in the centre, where one within a centre-pole tent would expect a _pole_, there was nothing – nothing but the oddest assembly of people. The one closest to him was without doubt the most intimidating looking; a brawny man standing a whopping six-foot-seven, with a shaved head and the outfit of an American soldier from a movie about the Vietnam War. Next to him stood a young, busty woman who barely reached him to his waist and was so scantily-clad that just _looking_ at her made Nova feel like the world's biggest pervert. Heat rushed to his cheeks and he quickly moved his gaze to the next person, a scrawny, pale teenager veiled in clothes as black as the color of his hair and the paint he had smeared around his eyes.

None of them so much as glanced in his direction when he entered – instead, their attention was fixed on a man who sat in the centre of the room. He grimaced as he scrutinized himself with great intensity in a small mirror.

"Aw, maaan," he whined, "I hate getting lashes in my eyes."

"I could remove them if you want," the American generously offered.

"Nah. I'm good." The man suddenly looked over the mirror, at Nova, and subsequently released a cry of delight. "If it isn't little Nova-chan!" he said, and the aforementioned Modsoul felt himself shrink to half his size as three pair of eyes were directed at him. "Welcome, welcome! It's a good thing Light caught you before you ran off after the lamps. I've been waiting for you, you know. We have some things do discuss. Come here, have a seat!" He patted the sand in front of him. Nova did as he was told, but chose to sit down further away than the man had indicated.

"A little suspicious then, Nova-chan?" the man asked, though it was more a statement than a question. "I can't blame you for that, really. Goes to show that you have a healthy amount of common sense. But where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself yet!" he straightened himself up, smiled and said, "I'm Akira Takahashi. Nice meeting you."

For a while, Nova remained unable to say anything. Visually, the only thing remarkable about this man was a tattoo under his left eye, of three purple, upside-down triangles. His hair was brown and unkempt, his jaw riddled with stubbles and he was wearing what looked like an ordinary pajamas adorned by a pattern of yellow ducks. Still, Nova couldn't help feeling wary of him, for good reason. He was in a situation he knew nothing about and this man seemed to know everything.

"Uhm, Takahashi… san." Nova paused to choose from the dozens of questions he had at this point. "…What is going on?"

Akira sighed. "An inevitable question. I'll cut to the point. You know that power of yours? Teleportation? Very nifty, that. In fact, I summoned you here because I need your help. With your power, you can help me." He went silent, waiting for Nova to say something. When he didn't, he continued; "You came here with a friend… didn't you?"

"Sado?" Nova's voice perked up. "You know where he is?"

"Aye. Nice young man, that."

"Where is he?"

"Ah, but that I cannot tell you. All I can say is that he's doing fine… for now." A sudden darkness fell across Akira's eyes. "Listen, Nova-chan… I don't mean to sound heartless, but the well-being of your friend is on the line here. And there's something I want you to do for me. Do you understand?"

Nova stiffened. He then nodded. An expression of genuine delight plastered itself across the other man's face. "Splendid! Now, before I tell you what I need you to do, I want to introduce you to someone." He motioned to the other three people, who had remained in silence for the duration of their conversation. Pointing to the soldier-man, he said, "That's Tank. He's our muscle."

Tank grinned menacingly and patted himself on his chest. Akira gave vent to a disapproving 'hrrm and continued. "The girl's name is Nana. She can track reiatsu like crazy."

Nana giggled at the description.

"And _that -"_ Akira nodded cheerfully towards the black-clothed kid, "- that's Kiyoshi. He's useless."

Kyoshi's deadpan expression slipped off his face and he bowed his head in shame. Akira leaned in towards Nova, whispering, "Don't you worry about making a good impression. They already worship you like a rock star."

Nova raised a brow before taking a second look at them – and saw in their eyes what was, without a doubt, deep, unconditioned admiration.

"You are my role model, sir," Tank said, visibly awed. "You are the very _personification_ of untainted manhood."

"Oooh," Nana agreed, raising a hand to her lips. "I'm afraid you're just too much of a man for frail little me to handle." She nodded with gravity to emphasize how serious her statement was.

Kiyoshi shot a pained glance in Nova's direction. "Just being in your presence reminds me how flawed I truly am, Nova-sama," he whispered. "I'm disgusting."

Then he bowed his head again and went silent. Nova blinked, thoroughly confused by their description of him and looked towards Akira, hoping that he would explain their bizarre behavior. He didn't. Instead, he said, "Now, since that's over with, I'm sure you're curious about the task I have for you."

Nova hesitated before nodding slowly, dreading the answer. Akira gave a brilliant smile.

"Good, good. Well, then…"

He leaned closer, smile growing even wider.

"… You, my dear little friend, are going to break into Soul Society."

---


End file.
